Study Details | Pathways to Work

101054-Study of Minnesota V

Study quality:

Moderate

Reason for the rating: This study received a moderate study quality rating because it is a quasi-experimental design that establishes that the intervention and comparison groups are similar at baseline and adjusts impact estimates to account for any minor differences in the groups.

Intervention: Minnesota Vocational Education for Incarcerated People

Population and employment barriers:

Educational attainment (At least a high school diploma or equivalent), Specific employment barriers (Justice involvement)

Services provided:

Occupational or sectoral training, Soft skills training

Setting: Tested in multiple settings

Study design

Design:

Quasi-experimental design

Study group formation:

Vocational programs were available in all Minnesota state prison facilities for anyone who had a high school diploma or GED prior to enrollment. Additional eligibility requirements were imposed on a case-by-base basis and typically included reviews of prior educational achievement, work history, and anticipated employability after release. The authors used a propensity score matching design with exact matching to construct a comparison group comprised of individuals released during the same time period who did not complete the program. Among a pool of 928 incarcerated individuals who had completed a vocational program and were released in 2019 or 2020 and 6,941 non-completers eligible for vocational programming also released in 2019 or 2020, 652 vocational program completers were matched to 652 comparison group members.

Time period of study:

3 years

Primary outcome domains examined:

Increase short-term employment, Increase short-term earnings

Other outcome domains examined:

Recidivism outcomes, including rearrest, reconviction, reincarceration for a new offense, and revocation of supervised release.

Study funded by:

The study author declared no receipt of financial support for the study.

Results

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Outcome domain	Measure	Timing	Study quality by finding	Impact	Units	Findings	Sample size
Increase short-term earnings	Annual earnings	Jan 2022	Moderate	1.11	2021 dollars		1,304
Increase short-term employment	Employed at any time in follow-up period	Jan 2022	Moderate		percentage points		1,304

Short-term outcomes are those measured 18 months or fewer after participants are first offered services. Long-term outcomes are those measured between 18 months and 5 years after participants are first offered services. Very long-term outcomes are those measured 5 years or more after participants are first offered services.

Findings quality key:

High
Moderate

Study quality terms?

The findings quality describe our confidence that a given study’s finding is because of the intervention. We do not display findings that rate low.

Findings key:

A moderate-to-large favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A moderate-to-large favorable finding that might to be due to chance
A small favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A small favorable finding that might be due to chance
A favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A favorable finding that might be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A moderate-to-large unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A moderate-to-large unfavorable finding that might to be due to chance
A small unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A small unfavorable finding that might be due to chance
An unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
An unfavorable finding that might be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size or direction
A finding of no effect that might be due to chance

Favorable findings are impacts in a direction that is socially desirable. Statistical significance indicates the likelihood that a study finding is due to the intervention, rather than due to chance. Findings are described as moderate-to-large if the intervention produced a sufficiently large change in the outcome. An impact receives this designation if the standardized effect size is equal to or greater than 0.25 or equal to or less than -0.25.

Sample characteristics

Over 90% of study participants were male. The average participant was in their mid-30s and less than 10% were identified as married.

Age

Mean age

36 years

Sex

Female	8%
Male	92%

Participant race and ethnicity

White

59%

The race and ethnicity categories may sum to more than 100 percent if the authors reported race and ethnicity separately; in these cases, we report the category White, rather than White, not Hispanic.

Participant education

Had a high school diploma or GED

100%

Specific employment barriers

Were involved with the justice system

100%

Intervention implementation

Implementing organization:

Minnesota Department of Corrections

Program history:

Minnesota Department of Corrections facilities have offered vocational programs since 2018.

Intervention services:

The treatment group was comprised of individuals released from Minnesota Department of Corrections facilities between 2019 and 2020 who completed vocational training programs while incarcerated.

Mandatory services:

None

Comparison services:

The comparison group was comprised of individuals released from Minnesota Department of Corrections facilities between 2019 and 2020 who did not complete vocational training programs but were otherwise matched with the treatment participants on observable characteristics.

Service receipt duration:

Not described.

Intervention funding:

Not described.

Study publications

McNeeley, Susan (2023). The Effects of Vocational Education on Recidivism and Employment among Individuals Released Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic, International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 67(15): 1547-1564. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X231159886

View the glossary for more information about these and other terms used on this page.

The Pathways Clearinghouse refers to interventions by the names used in study reports or manuscripts. Some intervention names may use language that is not consistent with our style guide, preferences, or the terminology we use to describe populations.

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Study of Minnesota Vocational Education for Incarcerated People

101054-Study of Minnesota V

Study design

Design:

Study group formation:

Time period of study:

Primary outcome domains examined:

Other outcome domains examined:

Study funded by:

Results

Sample characteristics

Age

Sex

Participant race and ethnicity

Participant education

Specific employment barriers

Intervention implementation

Implementing organization:

Program history:

Intervention services:

Mandatory services:

Comparison services:

Service receipt duration:

Intervention funding:

Study publications